Become a Better Investor Newsletter – 16 March 2024
Noteworthy this week
- US CPI higher than expected
- US inflation has stayed above 3%
- S&P 500 hitting new ATHs
- Invest in uncovered stocks
- Top 100 investment books
US CPI higher than expected: The US CPI inflation rate was 3.2% in February 2024, above expectations of 3.1%. Core CPI inflation fell to 3.8%, above expectations of 3.7%.
BREAKING: February CPI inflation rate RISES to 3.2%, above expectations of 3.1%.
Core CPI inflation fell to 3.8%, ABOVE expectations of 3.7%.
This is the 35th consecutive month with inflation above 3% and second straight increase.
A Fed pivot is becoming less likely.
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) March 12, 2024
US inflation has stayed above 3%: Inflation stopped going down 8 months ago. Wage and price inflation are embedded well above target.
Friends, every month I make the same post. Inflation stopped going down 8 months ago. Wage and price inflation is embedded well above target.
I don’t know why this is so hard to understand. pic.twitter.com/mFKZmhZAxn
— Ben Hunt (@EpsilonTheory) March 12, 2024
S&P 500 hitting new ATHs: The US market has continued up year-to-date. As of 7 March 2024, the S&P 500 index had recorded the 16th all-time high (ATH) of 2024.
The S&P 500 closed at another all-time high today, its 16th of the year. $SPX pic.twitter.com/d5TREQyA0b
— Charlie Bilello (@charliebilello) March 8, 2024
Invest in uncovered stocks: A potential edge for investors is investing in companies that are small and/or not yet covered by analysts. If they’re good, institutions can ensure the momentum continues as they get bigger and covered.
A microcap investor’s goal is to find something great when no analyst covers it and still be holding when the 10th analyst initiates coverage on it. Don’t follow the institutions. Invest where they are going to go.
— Ian Cassel (@iancassel) March 13, 2024
Top 100 investment books: Ranked by Goodreads rating, William Green’s Richer, Wiser, Happier tops the list. Well deserved.
📚Top 100 Most Popular Investment Books.
Top 10 by Goodreads Rating:
1.”Richer, Wiser, Happier” by William Green @WilliamGreen72 – 4.53
2. “The Simple Path to Wealth” by J.L. Collins @JLCollinsNH – 4.44
3. “Poor Charlie’s Almanack” by Charles Munger – 4.44
4. “The Barefoot… pic.twitter.com/Lhb2aYVpO5
— Vlad Bastion (@bastion_manager) March 12, 2024
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Weekly market performance
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Chart of the week
Discussed in the Become a Better Investor Community this week
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Podcasts we listened to this week
The Morgan Housel Podcast – The Dumber Side of Smart People
How could someone possibly be too intelligent? How do you get to a point where you realize you could have been more successful if you had been a little dumber?”
Readings this week
Financial Nihilism
“You can wish the crypto market would be more sound-minded. More sober. More focused on providing solutions to real problems. More rooted in reasonable valuation methodologies. Less bubble-ish.”
Book recommendation
What I Learned About Investing from Darwin by Pulak Prasad
“Pulak Prasad offers a philosophy of patient long-term investing based on an unexpected source: evolutionary biology. He draws key lessons from core Darwinian concepts, mixing vivid examples from the natural world with compelling stories of good and bad investing decisions—including his own.”
Get the book on Audible or Kindle.
Audible is great; have you tried it? If not, click here to get 2 books for free.
Memes of the week
— Jesse Cohen (@JesseCohenInv) March 9, 2024
Pilot getting ready to fly a $BA 737 MAX👇👇 pic.twitter.com/3lYGVkKwDC
— Kuppy (@hkuppy) March 14, 2024
New My Worst Investment Ever episodes
Ep778: Chris Kendall – Don’t Underestimate the Funding Needed to Go Big Time
BIO: Chris Kendall is the CEO of the Australian outsourced accounting group Aretex. Aretex helps businesses grow and scale with best-practice accounting, bookkeeping, and real-time access to accurate financial information.
STORY: Chris invested in the idea of a reality TV show piloted around finding baseball players. Chris believed in his friend’s vision and was so caught up in the emotional attachment that he didn’t do any due diligence on the idea.
LEARNING: If you’re going to fail, fail quickly, be honest about the failure, figure out what happened, and then move on to the next step. Don’t underestimate the funding needed to go big time.
Access the episode’s show notes and resources
Ep777: Riggs Eckelberry – Don’t Go into Any Industry Unprepared
BIO: Riggs Eckelberry is a nationally renowned entrepreneur who deploys his personal Break To Build™ process to help rebuild the water industry, which has reached a critical breaking point in recent years despite being essential to the planet’s survival.
STORY: Riggs met this wonderful lady who asked him to sit down with her money manager. He showed up at this money manager’s office, who told him he had a great business going and advised him to go public. Riggs said that would be impossible because he wasn’t profitable yet. Turning down this opportunity turned out to be Riggs’s worst investment.
LEARNING: You have to get that monthly recurring revenue. Don’t enter any industry unprepared.
Access the episode’s show notes and resources
Published on Become a Better Investor this week
In this episode, Bill Bellows and host Andrew Stotz talk about where and how to start using your new knowledge when you’re learning Deming.
Listen to Start Where You Are: Awaken Your Inner Deming (Part 15)
In this episode of Investment Strategy Made Simple (ISMS), Andrew gets into part two of his discussion with Larry Swedroe: Ignorance is Bliss. Today, they discuss two chapters of Larry’s book Investment Mistakes Even Smart Investors Make and How to Avoid Them. In this series, they discuss mistake number 28: Do You Fail to Compare Your Funds to Proper Benchmarks? And mistake 29: Do You Believe Active Management Is a Winner’s Game in Inefficient Markets?
Read ISMS 39: Larry Swedroe – Don’t Choose a Fund by Its Descriptive Name
ComfortDelGro Corporation Limited (CD SP): Profitable Growth rank of 7 was same compared to the prior period’s 7th rank. This is below average performance compared to 1,460 large Industrials companies worldwide.
Read ComfortDelGro Corporation – World Class Benchmarking
Fortune Electric Company Limited (1519 TT): Profitable Growth rank of 1 was up compared to the prior period’s 5th rank. This is World Class performance compared to 1,280 medium Industrials companies worldwide.
Read Fortune Electric – World Class Benchmarking
In February 2024, we published 6 new episodes of the My Worst Investment Ever podcast. Listen to all of them here.
Listen to My Worst Investment Ever February 2024
DISCLAIMER: This content is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Readers should not consider statements made by the author(s) as formal recommendations and should consult their financial advisor before making any investment decisions. While the information provided is believed to be accurate, it may include errors or inaccuracies. The author(s) cannot be held liable for any actions taken as a result of reading this article.